In Plain Sight
by BonitaBreezy
Summary: Riku is pretty content with his life, except for one tiny problem. Riku is blind. When he's offered the chance to change his life, what will happen? SoRiku


A/N: So I thought this up when I was half asleep. You see, my alarm clock snooze button is set in five-minute increments. It goes off at 6:15 and I slap it six times, until 6:45, when I have to get up or be late for school. This morning, in between sleeping and slapping off the alarm, I dreamed up this little story. I had to fine-tune a few bits that my sleeping mind justified and my awake mind realized wasn't actually possible, but other then that…you're basically reading my dream.

Welcome to my mind, friends. Take a moment to look at one of the thirteen sections and note which your car is in. Please remember that M.B.T (that being me) is not responsible for the loss or damage of any personal items. Please keep all hands and feet inside the fanfic at all times. Thank you and have a nice read!

Disclaimer: I own quite a few things. Sadly for me-and good for the rest of the world-Kingdom Hearts is not one of them.

The first thing that alerted Riku Silver that he was not alone was the slight creak of floorboards. He waited another moment to see if he could figure out who had entered the room, and surely enough; he was met by the subtle scent of familiar cologne and, under that, the freshness of spearmint.

"Hello Sora," he greeted, slipping a place marker in his book and gently closing it.

There was a small intake of breath and then a laugh. The footsteps grew louder, no longer trying to be stealthy. A chair scraped across the floor, quickly followed by the creak of being sat in. A soft thump as Sora set something on the table, presumably his backpack.

"I don't know how you do that, Ri. How do you always know?"

Riku let out his own short laugh and shook his head, glancing in the direction where he could hear his friend's voice coming from.

"I explain it to you time and time again, So. You move differently, but mostly, I can smell you." Riku could almost hear the frown spreading across the boy's face. "Before you badger me about it, you smell nice," he added.

"I just…don't get it. It amazes me, how you can do that. You must have, like, supersonic senses or something." Riku snorted at the irony of the statement and even Sora uttered a little laugh.

"Yeah…I guess that was sort of stupid, wasn't it?"

Riku didn't answer, merely reached for his bag, his fingers meeting the rough canvas. He grabbed it and pulled it toward him, fingers searching for the clasp. He shoved his book inside and pulled out a different one, his Chemistry textbook.

"Where's Kairi? I thought she was coming with you today?" Riku asked.

Kairi and Sora had been Riku's best friends since they were all babies. While he was a year older then both, they were all really close. Kairi was a slightly bossy redhead with a heart of gold. She was always making sure Riku and Sora got the important things done before allowing them to horse around, but she wasn't uptight. She knew how to have fun as much as the rest of them.

Sora was, and always had been, extremely cheerful and trusting. There wasn't a person on Destiny Islands that didn't like him. Riku knew he was lucky that, out of all the people Sora could have, he'd chosen Riku to be his best friend.

"She had to ask her English teacher about something, but she said she'll be here soon," Sora explained. Riku could hear his pencil scratching along the page and knew that his friend was drawing. Sora was an artist and he was never without his sketchpad. It was almost like his lifeline. He was good, very good and could easily get a scholarship to any art school he wanted. Riku only wished that he could see the pictures Sora so loved to draw.

Riku hadn't always been blind. He'd been eight years old when it had happened. He always wondered if that made it better or worse. He knew what colors looked like, had a basic gathering of the people he loved. If he were to wake up and magically see, he'd be able to read something other then the Braille books he'd become so used to. On the one hand, he'd had the chance to experience those things, when those blind from birth hadn't. On the other, he had something to miss. You couldn't really miss something if you'd never had it, but Riku most definitely had. And he did miss it.

His blindness had been a bit of a fluke. He'd been really sick with some sort of flu and his mother had taken him to the hospital. The doctor had been new and eager. He'd decided to give Riku a shot of a prototype cure that hadn't been inspected by the FDADI (the Food and Drug Association of Destiny Islands). His fever and sickness had gone away within three hours. About that same time, little black spots had begun to appear in front of his eyes. When he told his mother and she told the doctor, he'd informed them that he was probably having a mild reaction to the shot. They'd been assured that bed rest would cure everything up. The last thing Riku ever saw was his mother leaning over him, singing him quietly to sleep. When he awoke the next morning, he was blind.

He remembered panicking, trying to force his eyes open, convinced that they'd been glued shut. It was quite a shock to realize that they were already open. His mother had sued the hospital for everything it was worth and they'd come off billionaires from it. Still, no amount of money could make Riku's sight come back.

Being blind wasn't the most ideal condition in the world, but Riku figured it could be worse. He adapted to his new lifestyle, taking a year off public school to go to a special blindness center. There, he'd learned to read Braille, among countless other things that helped him get along without his sight. He had one advantage over others, though. He had his memories. Though he couldn't see any of the outside world, he could see the pictures locked in his memories. His mother, Sora and Kairi, even himself. He knew they were greatly outdated, as ten years had passed since then, but he cherished them anyway.

"Riku? Hello?" Sora's voice interrupted his thoughts, not to mention a sharp snapping right next to his ear. He winced and swatted the hand away.

"What? Sorry, So, I was thinking."

"About Cloud?" Sora teased, the pitch of his voice rising a tiny bit as he spoke.

"No," Riku muttered, running a hand through silver locks, of which he had allowed to grow past his shoulders. He trusted the people around him to let him know what looked good and what didn't. Kairi was practically his wardrobe artist, making sure he was always wearing what was in style and matching everything up. Just because he was blind didn't mean the rest of the world couldn't see him.

"Well, I hear he's been asking after you," Sora said, as if he were a gossiping girl. Sora gave Riku's arm a nice shove when the older informed the younger of this.

"Just because I'm gay doesn't mean that I want every guy that will give me the time of day," Riku sighed. "What page was the chemistry homework on again?"

In fact, there was only one guy Riku had any interest in. That guy just happened to be the worst person in the world Riku could have fallen in love with. There was something so…pure about Sora…so wonderful…it wasn't a surprise that Riku was in love with him. But damn if it wasn't inconvenient. For one, Sora wasn't gay. Second, Riku was blind. He knew it didn't bother Sora, but no one wants to date someone they have to take care of all the time. Riku was capable of caring for himself, but all the little things he did need help with piled up when focused on just one person. Sora wouldn't want to deal with that even if he was gay. Thirdly, Sora was Riku's best friend. Riku had fallen in love with his best friend. It was so cliché, sometimes even Riku thought it was ridiculous.

Riku didn't care about being gay, he didn't even care that everyone knew. It didn't really make much of a difference, all things considered. Sometimes, though, Sora would get really touchy or close, closer then friends really should be. Riku loved it and hated it at the same time. He loved it when Sora paid attention to him, he reveled in it. On the other hand, he hated feeling so awkward when the brunet's actions could turn him on in a flat second.

He heard Sora's sigh, followed quickly by the rustling of papers.

"Um…lets see. I know I wrote it down here somewhere…" There was another flurry of ruffling papers and Sora cursed quietly. "Damn…you know, I remember writing it down because I had to borrow Axel's pen…I just can't remember where…"

"Did you write it on your arm again?" Riku asked. There was a long pause and then a cry of victory.

"Yup! There it is! I can't believe I forgot where I wrote it!" He sounded slightly sheepish.

Riku waited a long moment before prompting, "Sora? The page number?"

"Oh, right! Uh…page 392."

Riku flipped to the correct page and ran his fingers across it, taking in the information. It was about twenty minutes before he spoke up again.

"So…ever think it's ironic that a blind guy is taking chemistry, a subject all about looking for chemical reactions?"

Sora snorted. "Yeah, I guess it is, isn't it? Still, you're better at it then I am, so you're obviously doing something right."

"Or maybe I just know who to copy," Riku answered with a sly grin. Sora laughed and then the door creaked open and they were met with Kairi's voice.

"You better be joking there, Riku. You know I won't stand for you cheating."

"Don't worry, mom," Riku sighed. "It was only a joke. I'm damn amazing, that explains my less-then-likely awesomeness at chemistry."

Another chair scraped out and he heard Kairi's tinkling laughter.

"Of course, how silly of me. Forgetting your total awesomeness, like that."

"You'll do well to remember it in the future," Riku answered seriously. "Now, which one of my lovely best friends wants to write these answers out for me?"

Writing…was a difficult thing. Pull out a piece of paper, close your eyes, and start writing. Rest assured, the result will not be pretty. During school he had a hired person to write things down for him, but he mostly depended on Sora and Kairi for everything else. They were good about it, though he often wondered if helping him out all the time ever annoyed them.

"I'll do it," Kairi offered.

"Ah, I love you!" Riku proclaimed with a grin. "Though, if you can help it, please refrain from dotting the 'i's with little hearts. That resulted in a rather interesting conversation with Mr. Vexen."

While Sora sniggered, Kairi apologized and assured him it wouldn't happen again.

They spent the next twenty minutes with Riku answering the questions and Kairi writing them down. About halfway through, Riku's cell phone rang with a techno beat. He dug it out of his pocket and answered it with a gruff, "Yeah?"

"Riku Silver that is no way to answer a telephone, what is wrong with you?"

"Oh…hi mom. Sorry," he winced and growled at his friends as they giggled.

"Riku, I have some news for you," she said. He sat up straighter, noticing the excited sound of her voice.

"Um…is it good news?" Kairi and Sora went completely silent, the only sounds being their breathing.

"It could be, Riku. I'll be home to pick you up in about 15 minutes. Tell Kairi and Sora I said hi and send them home."

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to see a doctor. One who…specializes in blindness."

Riku paused, frowning. "Mom…you're not going to get your hopes up for another crackpot, are you?" he sighed. They'd been through the same things over and over again. People would promise that they could fix Riku's eyes, only to take a lot of money and provide no results.

"No, Riku, honey. This is totally legit. I've been researching it for months, I've had our lawyer look into it, everything. They've performed this surgery on actual people and it really works!"

"And the money?" Riku sighed.

There was a long pause and he could hear his mother breathing. "Well…all right, so it is quite expensive, but won't it be worth it, Riku?"

He just sighed and shook his head. "Whatever you say, mom. I'll see you in a few." He snapped the phone shut and put it back in his pocket.

"Riku, what's going on?" Kairi asked, placing a hand on his arm.

"My mom has another scheme," he sighed, rubbing his temples. "She says this one is legit, but I'm thinking she's only setting herself up for disappointment again."

Kairi took his other hand and stroked his fingers affectionately. There was a scrape of a chair to his right and footsteps. A moment later Kairi's voice sounded from across the room.

"Blitzkrieg!" she called. It took Riku a moment to realize that his hand was still being held, which meant that Sora was the one holding it. He felt a blush spread across his cheeks and he leaned his head away, letting his hair cover his face. A bark came from down the hall and there was the sound of heavy paws treading. A moment later, a gigantic bundle of fur barreled into Riku's side. He dropped his hand down and pet the German Shepard. He had originally considered naming the dog Adolf, but Roxas, Sora's twin brother, had convinced him that it probably wasn't a good idea. Blitzkrieg was a registered Seeing Eye dog, but mostly he just hung around the house like a regular dog because he was lazy and Riku didn't like putting the harness on him.

"Do you want to take him, Ri?" Sora asked.

"Uh…I don't know. What do you think, Blitz?" The dog let out a little whine and pulled from Riku's grasp. "I'll take that as a no…"

The front door opened and Riku heard his mom call.

"Riku? I see that Sora and Kairi are still here…"

"Mom, you said ten minutes! That was hardly four!"

"Don't worry, Paine, we're just on our way out," Kairi assured her. Sora dropped Riku's hand and stood as well. Riku could hear his mother's footsteps approaching, her high heels clicking on the wood floors.

"Sorry to kick you guys out like this, but you understand, don't you?"

"Of course!" Sora answered cheerfully. "Call me later, Ri. Let me know how it goes!" After Riku assured his friends that he would call them, they said their good byes and left. Barely ten minutes later, he was in the car with his mother, driving off to face sure disappointment.

RSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRS

Judging off the echoing sound, Riku figured the building was fairly large. He couldn't, of course, really say for sure though. He walked along sullenly, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Every once in while, his mother would touch his arm and he'd know to take a few steps in the direction she pushed or pulled. After some walking, his mother placed a hand on his chest to warn him to stop. He did so and then heard her talking to another. The voice belonged to a man and it was slightly nasally. In all honesty, the sound of it made Riku want to slam his head into plated glass. Repeatedly.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

"Hi. We have an appointment for four o' clock with Dr. Gainsborough."

"Name?"

"Riku Silver."

"Ah, yes, here it is. Fill these out and take a seat. The doctor will be with you shortly."

Riku's mother thanked the annoying man and led Riku to a chair. He sat in it, slouching down and leaning his head back for lack of something better to do. It was hardly five minutes before a door opened and his name was called. They were lead even farther into the building and Riku was beginning to feel extremely disoriented. He hated being places that he didn't know. At least in places like home, school, or Sora and Kairi's houses, he knew the layout of the place. Here, he was completely at a loss and it made him feel slightly insecure.

He jumped a mile when a foreign voice spoke to him. He hadn't heard this newest person approach, which was unusual for him.

"Hello, you must be Riku."

"How'd you guess?" he snorted. "Couldn't possibly be cause I'm the blind one."

"Riku!" his mother admonished, but the foreign voice just laughed. "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's quite all right. He does have a point." The voice was gentle and female. Riku could practically hear her smiling.

"My name is Aeris Gainsborough. Call me Aeris. All right, Riku. If you'll take a seat I have some questions I want to ask you. Is that all right?"

He shrugged, knowing that his mother wouldn't let him refuse.

"Yeah sure, whatever." He found a chair and sat. "Fire away."

"Will do. All right, so you're eighteen, correct?"

"Yup."

"How long have you been blind?"

"Ten years. Don't you have some sort of chart on this stuff?"

He heard a small sigh and the rustle of papers.

"Yes, actually, I do. I was just hoping that by talking we could create a connection. I can tell that you don't exactly trust me or the situation."

"Yeah, well, we've been screwed over a lot of times before," Riku answered gruffly. "How am I supposed to know that you won't do the same?"

"I guess you can't, not really. The only thing I can tell you is that I'm really not interested in taking your money for no good reason. I want you to see, Riku. It's something I think everyone deserves. The knowledge of what the people they love look like. I want to give you back what was taken from you." He was a bit surprised by the speech. She did sound sincere. She was either a really caring person or a really good liar.

"Can I see your eyes, please, Riku?" He hesitated for a long moment before pulling his sunglasses from his face. He always had them on, sort of like a security blanket. It was extremely strange to be in front of other people and not have them on. He let out a deep breath and opened his eyes. Even now, it was a strange sensation. He could feel his eyes opening, but there was no sudden flood of sight. There should have been, but there wasn't. He heard Aeris gasp and a moment later her hands were cradling his face. They were warm and she smelled of flowers. It was nice.

"My, you have beautiful eyes, Riku."

"Thanks," Riku muttered, fighting the urge to hide behind his sunglasses again.

"This procedure, while fairly new, is actually quite simple," Aeris spoke. "What we'll do is transplant your retinas with another pair. Assuming that all goes well, you'll have 20/20 vision. Of course, there's always room for complications. In about ten percent of cases, the organs just don't take well with the host. If that's the case, nothing harmful happens. You'll just continue to be blind."

Riku listened intently, trying to detect dishonesty in her voice. It was harder to tell with her, because he wasn't sure how she sounded on any given day. He could tell people he knew because their voices and breathing would change. Sometimes, the way they pronounced words would change as well. The fact of the matter, though, was that he just didn't know her voice well enough to form an opinion. It seemed like an okay deal, but he just didn't trust it.

"We'll do it!" his mother said quickly, decisively. He sighed and shook his head.

"Actually, Mrs. Silver, you can't make this decision for him," Aeris spoke up. This is what really caught Riku's attention. She had his mother's agreement to go along with it, yet she was asking him? It was obvious that he was less then enthusiastic. Maybe she really wasn't in it for the money. Maybe…he would really be able to see again. He shook the hope out of his head, knowing it was useless.

"He's eighteen, and that makes him legally in charge of his own medical care, unless he's too incapacitated to give word."

His mother's hand clamped on his arm, holding tightly, desperately, "Riku. Please, give it a chance. If it doesn't work, you aren't any worse off…but if it does…" Riku sighed, hating the sound of her begging.

"Yeah, all right. I guess I've got nothing to lose." His mother's firm grip loosened and slipped down to hold his hand. He gave it a soft squeeze and listened to Aeris again.

"That's wonderful, Riku. I really hope that we can help you. We'll want to get this done as soon as possible, correct?"

"Yes," his mother answered and he just nodded. Might as well let her take over from there.

"Let's see…I can get you in with Dr. Vexen next week. How does that sound?"

Though he knew better then to hope, he almost couldn't help it. According to Aeris, there was a ninety percent chance that he would see again. He'd get to see Sora's eyes again. It almost seemed like a strange desire, but all he really wanted to see was Sora's eyes. Those beautiful blues, just once. He could see them and be struck blind once again and that would be okay. Just as long as he had a new picture to keep in his memory.

RSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRS

"So…yeah. I guess we'll see what happens." Later that night, Riku was talking to Sora and Kairi through a three-way call.

"Why don't you sound happy about this?" Kairi asked. "This is wonderful. Axel is planning on buying you a balloon in every color, by the way. He says you've got to make up for lost time…"

Riku snorted, shaking his head. "How does he know it will work? I'm just trying not to get my hopes up too much." Axel was Kairi's cousin and Roxas' boyfriend. He'd moved in with Kairi's family nearly three years before. His entire family had been killed in a car accident and he'd been the only one to survive it. There hadn't been a mark on him, which had resulted in him being known in the media as 'the miracle child'. Despite that, though, he was always cheerful and even on the edge of overzealous happiness. Riku didn't really get it.

"I think it will work, Ri. You just have to believe in it."

"Believe it and achieve it!" Riku muttered.

"Exactly!" Sora exclaimed, obviously missing the sarcasm.

"We're all planning on being there when you come out of surgery," Kairi informed him.

"Don't bother," Riku answered, lying back on his bed. "I'll be asleep."

"Doesn't matter," Sora interjected. "It's the perfect excuse to get out of school…"

"Wow," Riku sighed. "Thanks a lot. Nice to know I'm just being used."

"Yup," Sora answered cheerfully. "In fact, we only hang out with you for the benefits. Pity and all that, you know."

Riku snorted, knowing that Sora was only joking. "So what will you do if this operation works? I'll be able to see and there will be no more pity."

"We'll drop you like a hot potato, duh," Sora answered, sniggering.

"You're not being very nice, Sora," Kairi admonished.

"He knows that I'm joking!" Sora exclaimed. "I love you, Riku!"

Riku's heart clenched painfully and he forced a laugh. "Yeah. I know, So." He did know that Sora loved him. Like a friend, maybe even a brother. He wished that Sora would love him the way Riku wanted him to, though.

RSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRS

Riku was nervous. Really nervous. He was waiting to be taken to surgery and he laid on a hospital bed, all decked out in hospital garb, his hair tied in a ponytail and shoved under a cap. He was sure he looked ridiculous, which, really, was a stupid thing to be thinking about. Both his hands were being held, one by his mother, the other by Kairi. Roxas, Axel, Sora, and Kairi had skipped school that day so they could hang around doing nothing while Riku was getting surgery. He did appreciate it, but at the same time he hated letting them see how freaked out he was. He was basically leaving his well being in the hands of strangers. All in all, not much of a comforting thought. He'd talked to the surgeon performing the operation and he seemed like a cold, professional man.

"So what is the thing you want to see most, Riku?" Axel asked. _Sora._ Riku thought.

"I don't know," he said out loud. "I haven't really thought about it, I guess."

Before anyone else could say anything, Aeris entered the room.

"We're going to take you down, now, Riku. Everything is ready." He nodded and a few moments later, the bed started to move. He heard a chorus of goodbyes and 'good lucks' as the bed was rolled away. A few minutes later, something was placed over his face and then there was nothing.

RSRSRSRSRSRSRS

"How much longer do you think he's gonna be asleep?"

"He's in a medically induced coma. Give the poor guy a chance to sleep away the meds, jeez."

"What if he just…stays like this? Asleep, I mean."

"Hey…wait a second, I think he's waking up."

The first thing Riku tried to do was open his eyes. Everything was as black as he remembered. He let out a disappointed sigh. It would figure that he was one of the incompatible ten percent.

"Ri? Are you awake?" Sora asked. He could feel his friend leaning over him. He could smell that scrumptious Sora scent.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm awake," he said. His voice sounded sluggish and strange. He figured it was the after affects of whatever they'd drugged him with.

"Your doctor, that nice lady, said that everything went really well," Sora said encouragingly.

"Not well enough," Riku grumbled. "Can't see a thing."

There was a long silence and Riku wondered if they were all extremely shocked, before he heard a chuckle. It was unmistakably Axel's laugh.

"Why the hell is that funny?" he growled.

"You've got bandages over your eyes, Riku," Kairi told him. Riku froze for a moment, feeling like an idiot, before he started to laugh, too.

"Oh," he said simply. "I thought…I opened my eyes and it was all dark and I just figured…" They were all laughing now, though it was almost a silly, relieved kind of laughter. Riku heard the door open and a couple pairs of footsteps entered the room.

"Ah, good. You're awake!" Aeris voice said cheerfully. "How are you feeling?"

"All right…a bit sluggish."

"That's to be expected. The anesthetic should completely wear off soon."

"And what about the bandages?" Riku asked. "How long until I can take these off?"

"We want to give it a week to let your body adjust to this new addition and give time for the transplant to heal up. You're on a lot of pain medication right now, but you'll feel it once the morphine starts to fade," Aeris explained.

"Oh…all right," Riku answered. He was, admittedly, a bit disappointed. Still, though, he'd been blind for ten years. He could handle another week, right?

RSRSRSRSRSRSRSRS

That week drove Riku insane. The thought that he might be able to see if the bandages were gone made living blind a lot harder then usual. He stayed in the hospital that whole week, just in case. There was always someone popping in to check on him, so he was never alone. He'd stopped feeling the pain in his head about two days before and he was glad to be rid of it. Finally, though, the day had come when the bandages were to be removed. All his friends had assembled again, and Blitzkrieg was sitting at the foot of his bed, panting away like a fool.

"Are you ready, Riku?" Aeris asked. The entire room was completely silent, everyone holding their breaths in anticipation.

"Yeah," Riku breathed. "I'm ready. Go for it." She started looping the bandages from around his face. After a moment, he felt cold air against his closed eyelids and he knew that the only barrier left was himself. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst.

He was completely ready to accept that it hadn't worked, but now he knew he'd be extremely disappointed. He'd tried to keep from getting his hopes up, but he'd failed. He knew now that he'd been fooling himself. Of course he'd hoped. Now was the moment where he would see…or not. He'd know whether all that hope had been wasted.

Riku opened his eyes.

It took his eyes a moment to adjust and he found himself staring at a tall redhead. He had crimson spiky hair and bright green eyes with small black tattoos under them. His long, lanky body was clothed in jeans and a black hoodie. He was looking expectantly at Riku and Riku stared back. He didn't recognize this stranger, but he had a good guess as to who he might be.

"Axel," he said. The redhead cocked an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly to the side. "I knew you were tall…but no one ever told me that you look like a walking St. Patrick's Day parade."

Axel grinned and ran a hand through his red hair.

"Yeah…well, you're the one person I can…could, hide it from." Riku shifted his eyes from Axel to Kairi. She was substantially shorter then Axel, her hair a deep red instead of bright like Axel's. She had blue eyes that were sparkling with happiness and maybe tears. She wore a pink dress that came down to mid-thigh and zipped up the front.

"Just as pretty as I remembered," Riku sighed, looking at her. This was a magical feeling, looking at his friends, seeing Axel for the first time. Comparing that young picture of Kairi to this new, adult version. He turned his head to look toward Roxas and Sora, who were standing closely together. They were a spitting image of each other, the only difference being their hair colors, eyes, and smiles. Roxas was blonde, with brilliant icy blue eyes and a sarcastic smirk.

Sora, though, Sora was beautiful. His chocolate brown spikes were just as messy as Riku remembered them. He'd grown up, losing all his baby fat. He was now lean and slightly muscular, taller but not very tall. His face had taken on a mature curve, rather then the boyish roundness of Riku's memories. His eyes were the same deep blue, like sapphires but more captivating. They made sapphires look like dull rocks in comparison.

Much to his horror, he could feel tears slipping down his cheeks. He quickly swiped them away and leaned his head forward, letting his silver hair fall forward and hide his face from view.

"Riku?" He froze when he heard his mother's voice. He looked up at Paine and was met with almost the exact same sight as his last memory. Her silver hair had grown longer, but her eyes were still the same deep red color.

"Mom," he spoke softly. She wrapped her arms around him and clutched at him tightly.

"Oh Riku!" was all she could say. Before he knew what was happening, the rest of his friends had converged upon them and were hugging him as well. Oh god. They had crossed from a simple hug to a cheesy group hug. This had to stop, now.

"Okay, okay!" Riku yelled. "Get off of me, this is getting way too tacky." There was laughter and they let him breath normally again. Kairi stayed where she was, though, pulling a small round object out of her purse and handing it to Riku. He stared at it and then at her.

"And this is…?" Kairi rolled her eyes and grabbed it from him, popping it open and handing it back. He realized that it was a mirror. He held the mirror up and stared at himself for a long moment. He, too, had lost all his baby fat. His face was lean and pale, setting off his turquoise eyes beautifully. His silver hair hung long, his bangs covering his eyes almost completely.

"Damn, I'm sexy," he declared, continuing to check himself out.

"Give me that, Mr. Ego!" Kairi snatched the mirror out of his grasp and tucked it away. "Maybe we'd have been better off never giving you a mirror." Riku laughed and shook his head.

"Don't worry, Kairi. I won't spend all my time staring at myself in the mirror. I've got prettier things to look at." He tried extremely hard not to look at Sora. Apparently it worked, because Kairi smiled at him.

"You're sweet. It might mean more if you weren't gay, but sweet all the same." He gave her a 'what can ya do?' shrug. Finally, he turned to look toward the last woman standing in the room. She was of medium height with long brown hair held in a braid and green eyes. She wore a pale pink turtleneck with a dark pink flowery skirt and brown boots. Over all that was a white lab coat with the name 'Gainsborough' embroidered on the pocket.

"Aeris," he said, feeling like he might cry again but fighting the urge. He hated crying. "Thank you. So much." She looked about to cry herself and she nodded.

"Of course, Riku. You deserve it." She left the room then, leaving Riku to get used to his new sight. He kept closing his eyes and opening them again, almost expecting to randomly go blind again. But it was real. It was true. He could see, and he would most definitely never take that for granted again.

RSRSRSRSRSRSRS

Nearly a month later, Riku was sitting in his bedroom, staring at the newly painted walls. When he'd come home from the hospital and realized his walls were boring and white, he'd decided to redecorate a bit. He'd painted one wall deep green and two a beautiful blue, the closest he could find to Sora's eye color. The fourth wall was covered in cork and now pinned up with hundreds of pictures he'd taken over the last month, plus a few that his friends or mother had taken over the years. There were also letters and cards he'd received, magazine clippings, basically anything that caught his interest. It was while he was lying there that he caught sight of the brown, leather-bound book lying underneath his computer desk. He slipped off the bed and retrieved the book, recognizing it as Sora's. He'd seen all of Sora's artwork by that point, but he had never been allowed to look into this particular book. Sora had said it was confidential and that no one could look at it. Riku stared at the silver clasp, wondering if it would be terribly wrong to open it. Of course it would, considering that Sora had told him specifically that he didn't want anyone looking at it. He was so extremely curious though…

Before he really knew what he was doing, he'd undone the clasp and flipped the book open. The first page lay before him and he recognized himself as the subject of the picture. He had a serious, almost pensive look on his face. It was very good, very detailed. He wondered why this was so private. Maybe Sora didn't want Riku to know that he was drawing him. He flipped the page again and there was another picture of Riku. He kept flipping, each page holding a drawing of Riku in several different poses. He flipped the page again and his breath caught in his throat. This one was different from the rest. While it had Riku, it also had someone else. That someone was pressed passionately into a kiss with Riku, hands clutching at his jacket, no space to speak of between their bodies. Riku would recognize that spiky head anywhere. Sora.

As he continued to flip the pages, the drawings got better and better, and more and more explicit. It got to the point where he could feel himself getting aroused. He slammed the book shut, thoughts racing wildly. Sora…was drawing pictures…of them together. Like…porn pictures.

Whoa.

He flipped back to that first one, the one of them kissing, and saw that it was dated nearly four years before. So all that time…Sora had liked him all that time. So why hadn't he said anything? Why hadn't he done something?

_Maybe for the same reason you didn't do anything,_ said a snide little voice in his head. Riku shut the book again and shoved tucked it under his arm. He slipped into his shoes and set off down the stairs.

"Mom!" he called, slipping into his favorite leather jacket. "I'm going to Sora's house!"

"Wasn't Sora just over here?" she called back. He didn't answer, merely stepping outside into the cool fall air and shutting the door tightly behind him. The colorful leaves crunched beneath his feet as he ran to Sora's, the cool wind stinging his face. When he finally reached the brunet's house, he was slightly out of breath and sure that his cheeks were all pink. He took a moment to catch his breath before knocking on the door and then just walking in. They'd known each other for so long, they just did that. He called hello to Sora's mother and thundered up the stairs. Sora's room was at the very end of the hall. He let himself in without knocking once again. Sora looked up from his bed, eyes wide with surprise.

"Riku," he said. "What are you…" his voice trailed off as he looked down at the book held in Riku's hands. His face paled and he looked away.

"Did…did you look at it?" he breathed.

Riku hesitated for only a moment. "Yes." Sora sat up straight and stared at Riku as if he'd kicked his puppy.

"Riku…you weren't supposed to see that," he said, his voice sounding small. Riku opened to page of them kissing and handed the book to Sora.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. Sora looked away, cheeks flaming bright red.

"I don't know. I didn't want you to think it was weird…"

"What, that you're gay?"

"No…that I…you know…want to kiss you…and do other things…" Sora stuttered.

"So…it wasn't because I was blind?" Riku demanded. Sora's eyes went wide as if the thought had never crossed his mind. "What? No, of course not!" He stood up and gripped Riku's forearms. "What does that have to do with anything?"

With that sentence, Riku couldn't help himself. He wrapped his arms around Sora's waist and yanked the brunet against him in a searing kiss. It was a long moment before Sora responded, but he did. They melted against each other, leaving no space between them. Sora's fingers clutched Riku's jacket and his hand cradled the back of the brunet's neck. They didn't know it at the time, but they mirrored the picture perfectly. And later, they mirrored some of the other pictures as well.

RSRSRSRSRSRS

As they lied tangled together in Sora's bed, Riku let out a soft sigh of contentment. It was so strange, to be there after all those years. Yet, it felt so right. Sora lifted his head from Riku's chest and kissed his neck tenderly.

"Let me draw you," he pleaded.

"You draw me all the time," Riku pointed out.

"Not like this. That was all from imagination. Let me draw you from life."

At Riku's nod, Sora fetched his book and started to draw. As Riku sat there, watching his boyfriend with his second love, he felt so complete. Everything just worked out so well, and for some strange reason, he felt he owed it to that stupid accident that occurred when he was eight years old. For the first time, he found himself forgiving that doctor who had "ruined" his life. He found, at that point, that he was perfectly content.

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A/N: Hm…so I sorta like it. I ended up having to fill in a lot that I've forgotten, but I think it turned out okay. It's really hard to write when you can't describe what people are doing. Well…thanks for reading. Reviews are greatly appreciated.


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